1,387 research outputs found
Bulges
We model the evolution of the galactic bulge and of the bulges of a selected
sample of external spiral galaxies, via the multiphase multizone evolution
model. We address a few questions concerning the role of the bulges within
galactic evolution schemes and the properties of bulge stellar populations. We
provide solutions to the problems of chemical abundances and spectral indices,
the two main observational constraints to bulge structure.Comment: 15 pages, 10 figures, to be published in MNRA
Evidence of diffusive fractal aggregation of TiO2 nanoparticles by femtosecond laser ablation at ambient conditions
The specific mechanisms which leads to the formation of fractal
nanostructures by pulsed laser deposition remain elusive despite intense
research efforts, motivated mainly by the technological interest in obtaining
tailored nanostructures with simple and scalable production methods. Here we
focus on fractal nanostructures of titanium dioxide, , a strategic
material for many applications, obtained by femtosecond laser ablation at
ambient conditions. We model the fractal formation through extensive Monte
Carlo simulations based on a set of minimal assumptions: irreversible sticking
and size independent diffusion. Our model is able to reproduce the fractal
dimensions and the area distributions of the nanostructures obtained in the
experiments for different densities of the ablated material. The comparison of
theory and experiment show that such fractal aggregates are formed after
landing of the ablated material on the substrate surface by a diffusive
mechanism. Finally we discuss the role of the thermal conductivity of the
substrate and the laser fluence on the properties of the fractal
nanostructures. Our results represent an advancement towards controlling the
production of fractal nanostructures by pulsed laser deposition.Comment: 21 page
Effect of phase noise on useful quantum correlations in Bose Josephson junctions
In a two-mode Bose Josephson junction the dynamics induced by a sudden quench
of the tunnel amplitude leads to the periodic formation of entangled states.
For instance, squeezed states are formed at short times and macroscopic
superpositions of phase states at later times. The two modes of the junction
can be viewed as the two arms of an interferometer; use of entangled states
allows to perform atom interferometry beyond the classical limit. Decoherence
due to the presence of noise degrades the quantum correlations between the
atoms, thus reducing phase sensitivity of the interferometer. We consider the
noise induced by stochastic fluctuations of the energies of the two modes of
the junction. We analyze its effect on squeezed states and macroscopic
superpositions and study quantitatively the amount of quantum correlations
which can be used to enhance the phase sensitivity with respect to the
classical limit. To this aim we compute the squeezing parameter and the quantum
Fisher information during the quenched dynamics. For moderate noise intensities
we show that these useful quantum correlations increase on time scales beyond
the squeezing regime. This suggests multicomponent superpositions as
interesting candidates for high-precision atom interferometry
Noise in Bose Josephson junctions: Decoherence and phase relaxation
Squeezed states and macroscopic superpositions of coherent states have been
predicted to be generated dynamically in Bose Josephson junctions. We solve
exactly the quantum dynamics of such a junction in the presence of a classical
noise coupled to the population-imbalance number operator (phase noise),
accounting for, for example, the experimentally relevant fluctuations of the
magnetic field. We calculate the correction to the decay of the visibility
induced by the noise in the non-Markovian regime. Furthermore, we predict that
such a noise induces an anomalous rate of decoherence among the components of
the macroscopic superpositions, which is independent of the total number of
atoms, leading to potential interferometric applications.Comment: Fig 2 added; version accepted for publicatio
Stochastic processes, galactic star formation, and chemical evolution. Effects of accretion, stripping, and collisions in multiphase multi-zone models
This paper reports simulations allowing for stochastic accretion and mass
loss within closed and open systems modeled using a previously developed
multi-population, multi-zone (halo, thick disk, thin disk) treatment. The star
formation rate is computed as a function of time directly from the model
equations and all chemical evolution is followed without instantaneous
recycling. Several types of simulations are presented here: (1) a closed system
with bursty mass loss from the halo to the thick disk, and from the thick to
the thin disk, in separate events to the thin disk; (2) open systems with
random environmental (extragalactic) accretion, e.g. by infall of high velocity
clouds directly to the thin disk; (3) schematic open system single and multiple
collision events and intracluster stripping. For the open models, the mass of
the Galaxy has been explicitly tracked with time. We present the evolution of
the star formation rate, metallicity histories, and concentrate on the light
elements. We find a wide range of possible outcomes, including an explanation
for variations in the Galactic D/H ratio, and highlight the problems for
uniquely reconstructing star forming histories from contemporary abundance
measurements.Comment: 12 pages, 12 Postscript figures, uses A&A style macros. Accepted for
publication by Astronomy & Astrophysic
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